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White House Pressure for a Donor?
The four-star Air Force general who oversees Air Force ...

The four-star Air Force general who oversees Air Force Space Command walked into a highly secured room on Capitol Hill a week ago to give a classified briefing to lawmakers and staff, and dropped a surprise. Pressed by members, Gen. William Shelton said the White House tried to pressure him to change his testimony to make it more favorable to a company tied to a large Democratic donor.

The episode —confirmed by The Daily Beast in interviews with administration officials and the chairman of a congressional oversight committee —is the latest in a string of incidents that have given Republicans sudden fodder for questions about whether the Obama administration is politically interfering in routine government matters that affect donors or fundraisers. Already, the FBI and a House committee are investigating a federal loan guarantee to a now failed solar firm called Solyndra that is tied to a large Obama fundraiser.

Now the Pentagon has been raising concerns about a new wireless project by a satellite broadband company in Virginia called LightSquared, whose majority owner is an investment fund run by Democratic donor Philip Falcone.

According to officials familiar with the situation, Shelton’s prepared testimony was leaked in advance to the company. And the White House asked the general to alter the testimony to add two points: that the general supported the White House policy to add more broadband for commercial use; and that the Pentagon would try to resolve the questions around LightSquared with testing in just 90 days. Shelton chafed at the intervention, which seemed to soften the Pentagon’s position and might be viewed as helping the company as it tries to get the project launched, officials said.

“There was an attempt to influence the text of the testimony and to engage LightSquared in the process in order to bias his testimony,” Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) said in an interview. “The only people who were involved in the process in preparation for the hearing included the Department of Defense, the White House, and the Office Management and Budget.”

It's almost as if they CAN'T do anything without including "The Chicago way"...

It's almost as if they CAN'T do anything without including "The Chicago way"...

I wonder how much fossil fuel money is behind all these BS attacks on green energy companies? And yes, they're BS attacks!

BS attack on Lightsquared:

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The White House confirmed Wednesday that its Office of Management and Budget suggested changes to the general’s testimony but insisted such reviews are routine and not influenced by politics. And it said Shelton was permitted to give the testimony he wants, without any pressure.

And one would question if the general had alterior motives after hearing Lightsquared CEO complain,

Quote:

"For a company that allegedly is ‘wired’ inside the Beltway, we've been unable to even get the House Armed Services Committee to allow us to have one representative today’s hearing — a hearing in which we are the subject,”
- LightSquared CEO,Sanjiv Ahuja

So they're not even allowed to have a representative at their own hearing. What's up with that, GOP?

I also find it funny, no such interest from the GOP in Administration misconduct was present in regards to Halliburton, KBR and Blackwater a few years ago when the US taxpayer was getting ripped off by these no-bid contracts on a weekly basis.

As for the BS attack on Solyndra...

BS attack on Solyndra:

The right is trying to do to green energy, what it tried to do with Climategate, which was make a big deal out of nothing.

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Solyndra was working on a solar technology that promised to be cheaper than silicon, and at the time of the loan it looked really promising both to DOE and to private investors. But then the market turned: Silicon prices dropped, and China started producing super low-cost silicon PV. That spelled doom for Solyndra. They had a good idea, but it didn't work out.

BTW, the government was not the only investor, there was a lot of private money too.

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Solyndra is a tiny fraction of DOE's green-energy loan program, and Solyndra's loan guarantees are dwarfed by those of both fossil fuel and nuclear companies, which range into the multiple billions. There was no scandal in the loan process, and there's nothing unusual about having a certain fraction of speculative programs like this fail. It's all part of the way the free market works.

We can expect more of these BS issues surfacing as we get closer to the primary's.

I wonder how much fossil fuel money is behind all these BS attacks on green energy companies? And yes, they're BS attacks!

BS attack on Lightsquared:
And one would question if the general had alterior motives after hearing Lightsquared CEO complain,
So they're not even allowed to have a representative at their own hearing. What's up with that, GOP?

I also find it funny, no such interest from the GOP in Administration misconduct was present in regards to Halliburton, KBR and Blackwater a few years ago when the US taxpayer was getting ripped off by these no-bid contracts on a weekly basis.

As for the BS attack on Solyndra...

BS attack on Solyndra:

The right is trying to do to green energy, what it tried to do with Climategate, which was make a big deal out of nothing.

BTW, the government was not the only investor, there was a lot of private money too.
We can expect more of these BS issues surfacing as we get closer to the primary's.

Blah, blah, blah.... More diversion away from the issue of teh amount of corporate influence in the WH. Care to discuss THAT, Billo??? You've always been the guy standing on the corner screaming about corporate influence on the Rep. side of things, yet it seems like your screaming has been tempered down to an occasional grumble. We've got very strong evidence of gross infleunce peddling in this admin. and all we hear from the left is attempts to excuse it or divert teh discussion away this issue.

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Blah, blah, blah.... More diversion away from the issue of teh amount of corporate influence in the WH. Care to discuss THAT, Billo??? You've always been the guy standing on the corner screaming about corporate influence on the Rep. side of things, yet it seems like your screaming has been tempered down to an occasional grumble. We've got very strong evidence of gross infleunce peddling in this admin. and all we hear from the left is attempts to excuse it or divert teh discussion away this issue.

It's no diversion. Corporate influence is prevalent in Washington on both sides. However, in regards to this issue, the negative influence rests with the republican bitch whores of the oil, gas and coal industries trying to create a controversy where there is none.

It's no diversion. Corporate influence is prevalent in Washington on both sides. However, in regards to this issue, the negative influence rests with the republican bitch whores of the oil, gas and coal industries trying to create a controversy where there is none.

So crony capitalism is OK as long as you like the companies that benefit?
How did we benefit but giving 500 Million dollars to a company with strings that allowed the govt to be paid back last while donors to Obama were first in line?

__________________
"The ultimate decision about what is accepted as right and wrong will be made not by individual human wisdom but by the disappearance of the groups that have adhered to the "wrong" beliefs."
-- F.A. Hayek

It's no diversion. Corporate influence is prevalent in Washington on both sides. However, in regards to this issue, the negative influence rests with the republican bitch whores of the oil, gas and coal industries trying to create a controversy where there is none.

So you think that the MASSIVE amount of money that the folks behind Solyndra pumped into his campaign and the campaigns of a lot of other Dems. had nothing to do with this??? Seriously???? Billo, you may be an insufferable (yet lovable) lunatic at times, but I never thought that you'd turn a willing blind eye to this kind crap. This isn't some assumed association, it's pure, unadulterated influence peddling. Yes, it's happened on both sides, but for it to happen at this level, this blatantly and this expensively has got to get your fur up. Yet for some reason you chose to ignore this issue and try to shift the discussion to "B-b-b-but Bush..."

So you think that the MASSIVE amount of money that the folks behind Solyndra pumped into his campaign and the campaigns of a lot of other Dems. had nothing to do with this???

I hardly consider $87,050 a "MASSIVE amount of money".

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Originally Posted by faithful_servant

Seriously???? Billo, you may be an insufferable (yet lovable) lunatic at times, but I never thought that you'd turn a willing blind eye to this kind crap.

This is just another GOP witch hunt, much like the one with ACORN was. And we all know how those accusations turned out. Not one was able to make it into a court of law, let alone whind up in a conviction. This is just the right crying wolf one more time.

That's non-sense. First off, it wasn't Kaiser that made the donation, it was his foundation. Second, since it was his foundation, there was no way he could profit from it.

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The conservatives make the accusation that an Obama donor named George Kaiser is a major investor in Solyndra, and Solyndra received the loan guarantee as a result of Kaiser's (and others) campaign contributions, in order to personally profit. The problem with this is that George Kaiser was not an investor in Solyndra, the Kaiser Family Foundation was. According to Tulsa World,

In an emailed statement to the Tulsa World, a representative of the George Kaiser Family Foundation said the organization made the investment through Argonaut.

"George Kaiser is not an investor in Solyndra and did not participate in any discussions with the U.S. government regarding the loan," the statement said. "GKFF invests in a globally diversified portfolio across many different asset classes."

The Kaiser Family Foundation is a philanthropic organization, which means Kaiser (or anyone else) could not personally profit from a successful investment by the foundation.

So much for your influence peddling.

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Originally Posted by faithful_servant

Yes, it's happened on both sides, but for it to happen at this level, this blatantly and this expensively has got to get your fur up.

This is just another Fox-based made up story.

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The typical conservative-outlet story follows a template of Glenn-Beckian accusations that someone "connected to" Obama has "ties" to something. When you hear the phrasing "has ties to" you should understand this as code-speak for "has nothing to do with but can be made to appear to have some sinister involvement if you twist the wording a certain way."

Trust me, if there was something to get the "fur" standing, my fur would be the first to be standing at attention.

Quote:

Originally Posted by faithful_servant

Yet for some reason you chose to ignore this issue and try to shift the discussion to "B-b-b-but Bush..."

I'm just putting things in perspective. Giving examples of real cronyism. Real examples, for which the right said nothing about at the time.

BTW, why is it, you're not mentioning the fact that one of the donors was the conservative Walton family and that Solyndra's first loan was approved by the Bush Administration?

Quote:

The company, partly backed by the conservative Walton family had received a loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. The loan, which was originally pushed by the Bush administration, was 1.3% of the DOE portfolio.

I wonder how much fossil fuel money is behind all these BS attacks on green energy companies? And yes, they're BS attacks!

BS attack on Lightsquared:
And one would question if the general had alterior motives after hearing Lightsquared CEO complain,
So they're not even allowed to have a representative at their own hearing. What's up with that, GOP?

I also find it funny, no such interest from the GOP in Administration misconduct was present in regards to Halliburton, KBR and Blackwater a few years ago when the US taxpayer was getting ripped off by these no-bid contracts on a weekly basis.

As for the BS attack on Solyndra...

BS attack on Solyndra:

The right is trying to do to green energy, what it tried to do with Climategate, which was make a big deal out of nothing.

BTW, the government was not the only investor, there was a lot of private money too.
We can expect more of these BS issues surfacing as we get closer to the primary's.

At least wipe off your chin

__________________"No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem."
-Booker T Washington

"“A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves...and include all men capable of bearing arms.”-- Richard Henry Lee